Turkiye's external assets total $298.1B at end of 2021

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkiye finished 2021 with external assets worth $298.1 billion, down 16.6% from the end of 2020, according to data released by the Turkish Central Bank on Friday.

Liabilities against non-residents fell 17.5% to $528.3 billion during the same period.

The net international investment position (NIIP) – the difference between external assets and liabilities – was minus $230.2 billion at the end of December, versus minus $384.8 billion at the end of 2020.

Showing a snapshot in time, the NIIP – which can be either positive or negative – is the value of overseas assets owned by a nation, minus the value of domestic assets owned by foreigners, including overseas assets and liabilities held by a nation’s government, the private sector, and its citizens.

Reserve assets, a sub-item under assets, jumped 19.2% to $111.2 billion, the data showed.

Other investments, another sub-item under assets, totaled $126.1 billion with a rise of 16.4% from the end of 2020.

“Currency and deposits of banks, one of the sub-items of other investment, recorded $50.9 billion, indicating an increase of 21.5% compared to the end of 2020,” the bank said.

On the liabilities side, direct investments – equity capital plus other capital – at the end of December 2021 amounted to $122.2 billion.

The figure was down 47% from the end of the previous year “with the contribution of the changes in the market value and foreign exchange rates,” the bank said.

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was around 13 at the end of 2021, significantly higher than the figure of 7.35 at the end of 2020.

Non-residents’ foreign exchange deposits were up by 4.1% to $34.7 billion, while Turkish lira deposits dropped by 38.3% to $9.7 billion.​​​​​​​

The total external loan stock of banks amounted to $66.9 billion, down 6.5% from the end of 2020, while total external loan stock of other sectors grew by 1% to $96.7 billion, according to the Central Bank.